At Williams and Trinity, students from 2014-15 waited at most two days to get non-emergency mental health counseling.

At Amherst, they waited a day and a half.

At Bowdoin and Connecticut College, they had no wait.

At Wesleyan, they waited three weeks.

For three weeks, students who needed counseling and support marked down the days on their calendars as they missed classes, lost sleep, dropped commitments, and suffered.

Now, a year later, they still have to wait over a week and face a limit on the number of weekly appointments they can make per year.

If Wesleyan hopes that its students will grow into leaders and torchbearers, it, as an institution, should endeavor to do the same and commit to providing students care when they need—that means no wait—for as many times as the need—that means no cap on the number of weekly visits. Namely, the budget committee should approve the CAPS fiscal year 2017 budget request and:

1. Hire two new, full-time psychologists.
2. Raise our half-time therapist up to full-time.
3. Approve the hiring of a full-time Advanced Practicing Nurse Practitioner (APRN).
4. Increase the CAPS operating budget for the first time in six years.